Assessment tools exist for performing a reliability assessment with respect to mechanical, electrical, thermal and manufacturing aspects of an electronic or electrical product. Typically, the existing assessment tools were developed for use by large U.S. manufacturers who designed and manufactured their own products. Many of the existing tools are bundled with design software and are complex to use. For example, a person with knowledge and skill to use one of the above-mentioned tools may not have the knowledge and skill to use others of the existing tools. Further, many of the existing tools are time consuming to execute. For example, results of executing some of the existing tools may not be available for weeks.
Today, U.S. companies market and sell many products, however, the actual product design may be outsourced. If a company accepts a product design, which later is discovered to be defective, the company's reputation will suffer in the marketplace and the company's profitability will ultimately be adversely affected. Therefore, companies need to have a way to assess the reliability of product designs before manufacturing and selling products. Further, companies need to have a way to perform reliability assessment of product designs in a timely manner and without the need for personnel with specialized backgrounds to perform the reliability assessment.